


Coincidence or Fate?

by CherryFreckles23



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU, All the Avengers Love Darcy, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Bucky Barnes & Darcy Lewis Friendship, Cliff Hangers Galore, Family, Gen, Hilarity shall ensue, Tony Stark Snark, Uncle Tony, little bit of drama, uncle Bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 18:38:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 9,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7234090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryFreckles23/pseuds/CherryFreckles23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It could only have been fate that brought Jane Foster to New Mexico to then encounter Thor.<br/>Could it be said that it was mere coincidence that Darcy was their only applicant for the intern position?<br/>Could it be mere coincidence that her family tree has roots going to one Avenger, and one Assassin?<br/>What could possibly go wrong when S.H.I.E.L.D uncovers these roots?</p><p>Darcy hijinx guaranteed!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sometimes things slip between the cracks. Like an important file being stuck to the back of a regular report page. 

 

“How did we miss this?”

 

Or a beloved toy getting left behind in between the couch cushions.

 

“Miss what? Report.”

 

And then there are those things that some people deliberately shove, cram, and smoosh in-between that itty bitty gap.

 

“What should we do?”

 

Agent Maria Hill stood perfectly still, her eyes glued to the screen and its arrangement of information. A tense second passed as the two researchers that had discovered this dark little tidbit held their breathes. It had been their sole responsibility to delve into the backgrounds of anyone privy to S.H.I.E.L.D's existence before it had gone world wide.

 

Somehow they had let what could possibly be a future nightmare slip right by them.

 

“Back everything up to a portable then delete the sources. I'm taking it with me.”

 

Agent Hill watched the transfer on the screen her jaw clenching, _'Fury is going to kill me for this one.'_

 

The loaded USB secure in her pocket she left behind the two researchers to stare at the last remaining photo on their system.

A pale woman with long curly brunette hair, bright red lips, big baby blue eyes smiled back at them.

They wondered if she would still being smiling that way once the shit hit the fan.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Darcy Maria Lewis was currently smiling as she zeroed in on her target, “Is that all you got?! Get your punk ass off my raceway!”

An explosion erupted on the TV screen as a blue shell destroyed Yoshi and his egg shaped kart. Through her headset she heard Ian swear, Darcy cackled in delight crossing the finish line in first place.

Putting down the controller Darcy turned her attention to the laptop screen next to her, “I win, you lose, now pay up and say the magic words.”

Ian's face; although slightly distorted from poor webcam quality; was clearly scrunched up in irritation, “I think you cheated. I'm not saying it.”

“You can't cheat at fucking Mario Kart. Well...Unless you hack it, which I didn't! Stop being a big British baby and say it.” Had Ian been there in person she would have poked him.

Letting out a grumble Ian muttered, “Darcy is the Queen of All Things Awesome in the Universe and owns my British baby ass.”

“Yea I do. Now give Mama some sugar. I need to go tuck in the boss lady.”

“I still don't understand why you keep working for her. You got your Poli-Sci degree last year.” Ian lounged back in his computer chair, his eyes not entirely focused on Darcy's face as she was removing the afghan from her shoulders giving Ian a good view of the curves that were underneath.

The corners of Darcy's mouth twitched, a sign of frustration he didn't catch.

“I've told you. Jane is my sister from another mister, who happens to have a God for a boyfriend, and S.H.I.E.L.D pays me to keep her alive. And to not talk about them....Which I just did...You didn't hear that last part...Again...Shut up.” She was telling herself, not Ian to be quiet. All the same he blew her a small kiss with a dorky little good bye wave and ended the Skype call.

Huffing out a big breath to clear her emotions Darcy grabbed her thick dark purple hoodie and headed for the door. Stepping out of her cozy little trailer and into the brisk night air Darcy took in a deep lung full. It was great to be in the U.S again where people drove like proper rage induced monsters, gave you a saucy wink at the bar when you flaunted the goods, and knew the importance of ketchup. London had had some of those things but not in the surplus quality that America provided.

Pulling on her sweater Darcy made her way to the small house next to her trailer. Ignoring the front door she went around back to the ladder propped against the wall. Climbing up it with well practiced ease she got onto the roof and carefully made her way to the man made platform. Her best bud, boss, and adopted sister was laying back and gazing up at the stars.

Laying down next to Jane Darcy huddled in close knowing Jane would likely be cold, “Hey Jane, any love letters from the stars tonight?”

Jane didn't look away ash she wiggled closer to Darcy for warmth, “Nope. Not tonight.”

“Bummer.”

“Yup.”

They went quiet. Jane watched for any sudden rainbow light beams from Asgard, and Darcy watched for anything at all. Their current set up wasn't too far from New York and the current home base for the Avengers. If one was lucky, they could catch sight of Iron Man flying by. Anything else belonging to the Avengers was black and sneaky. Catching a glimpse of a copter or jet at night would be a miracle.

Darcy let Jane enjoy/analyze the night sky for another ten minutes before she got cold and bored, “Okay Boss Lady, time for bed.”

“It's still....early.” Jane knew she sounded pathetic and didn't care. Only with Darcy did she let herself be childish.

Darcy pushed back the sleeve of her sweater and shoved the glow in the dark, Thor decal watch in her face, “What time does that say?”

“Two?”

“Try again Ms. Universe.”

“3:30.”

“Uh huh, and what did we agree on when we moved in, made your star bed, and started working on things and stuff again?”

“You do all the cooking, I eat it without fighting. You do all the cleaning, I go to bed at a semi-decent time, with the exception of saving the world from Legolas' evil cousins.”

Darcy smirked, she loved it when Jane quoted her word for word, “Is the world in need of saving tonight?”

“No.”

“Good girl, time for bed. I'll make your favorite french toast for breakfast for being so cooperative.” Darcy gently pulled Jane to her feet. She made sure to keep her steady until she was able to move without pins and needles.

Fully out of her star gazing trance Jane became aware of how cold she was. Once her feet hit the solid ground she practically ran back inside with Darcy right behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got up to six chapters written so far, I'd like to be able to post something new every day, but my life style doesn't really afford me the time for that.
> 
> Currently debating on whether I want to post this on FF.net as well >.>  
> Naaaah.  
> Let's go with tumblr instead.
> 
> Thoughts, even if they are critical, are welcome.


	3. "What's the Password?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Answer the questions and no one gets tazed.

The next morning Darcy did as she promised and made french toast for breakfast. With just the two of them to feed cooking was easy, quick, and tidier, especially with a fully functioning kitchen. Back in New Mexico Darcy had managed to feed herself, Jane and Erik Salvig using two pots, a hot plate, and a sink that tended to leak through some crack or hole.

Usually by the time the first piece was half cooked Jane would stumble out of her room and make grabby hands for a cup of coffee.

That morning Jane was dragged out of bed by the sound of cars pulling up outside their house, and Darcy's exclamation of, “Oh shit! Jane! Big Brother is here! I'll hide all your research and my iPod, you block them at the door.”

After what happened two years ago Darcy refused to be cool with S.H.I.E.LD. She never forgave them for stealing her iPod's predecessor, or for relocating Jane to a safe house without telling her. She'd been a spastic mess from worry when she'd heard about New York and Loki, and had no idea what happened to Jane until after the battle was over.

“Jerks.” She grumbled this to herself while she shoved her iPod into her bra, and her handy tazer into the back pocket of her jeans.

She walked into the foyer just as there was a knock on the front door. Jane stood at the ready in her hastily thrown on flannel PJ pants and red tank top, covered by a plush bright pink house coat. When there was a second knock Jane opened the door a crack, “Yes, can I help you?”

“Dr. Foster, I'm Agent Stevens, this is Agent Bricks. May we come in?”

Darcy stepped up next to Jane, her hand resting on her back pocket, “Coulson collected cards, what kind were they?”

The two agents went stiff at the mention of Agent Phil Coulson. It was harsh, especially if they knew him personally, but it was also a safety passage. S.H.I.E.L.D had implemented it after the discovery that their organization was actually the enemy.

Holding Darcy's eyes Agent Stevens answered, “Captain America trading cards.”

“Triangle, circle, or square?”

“Triangle.”

“Purple, blue, green, orange?”

“Green.”

To anyone not involved this made no sense. What Darcy had actually asked was, “What was the shape of Iron Man's chest piece during his 'I'm dying' meltdown?” and “What colour is the Hulk?”

There was a list of 25 different questions that Darcy could have asked. She always aimed to make it harder on anyone that she wasn't familiar with. It wasn't that hard to memorize the list after all.

Having cleared them to enter Jane opened the door the rest of the way. Knowing that Big Brother always wanted to talk to Jane she went back to the kitchen to keep making breakfast. If the goons wanted something they'd have to ask very, very nicely.

As she soaked a piece of bread in egg batter she kept her ear trained towards the door. Even if they weren't here for her it didn't mean she didn't want to know what was going on.

“-Lewis.”

Her hand paused above the frying pan.

“Darcy?' There was an edge of suspicion and surprise to Jane's voice.

Letting the piece of soaked bread plop back into the batter Darcy turned towards the doorway to the kitchen. Seeing Jane and the two agents Darcy said the first thing that popped into her head, “I didn't do it.”

“You're not in any trouble Miss Lewis. We would just like you to com with us, Dr. Foster is welcome to come along as well.” Agent Bricks sounded relaxed and casual. Darcy glanced at Agent Stevens and could tell he wasn't on guard either.

She snorted, “You're just letting her come so she doesn't follow us and break into the place anyway.”

Jane ducked her head to hide a smile, Darcy knew her far too well.

Planting her feet and crossing her arms Darcy asked, “If I'm not in trouble then I have a right to know why you need me to come with you. I'm a Poli-Sci grad, I know my rights....and stuff. Give me one good reason.”

There was a twitch to the Agents' relaxed composure. Agent Stevens made a show of tapping his right ear before saying, “This isn't the best place to say.”

Jane immediately went squirrely, her eyes darted around the room as if able to spot any listening devices.

 _'I know what we're doing when we get home.'_ “Fine! We'll come with, but only because you answered the questions...And you're playing nice. Someone back at the Mother Ship warn you about Thorston?” Darcy held up her tazer and waved it with a smile.

Agent Bricks snickered, “It's in your file with a big red sticker next to it. There's a betting pool on whether you'd get one of us.”

Jane covered her face groaning while Darcy whooped, “Hear that Jane? I got street cred in S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Pointedly looking to Agent Stevens on their way out Jane asked, “Does she really have a file?”

Stevens sighed, “And it's getting thicker by the day.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I forgot the feeling of fuzzies when people find my writing, or at least the story idea, interesting. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!


	4. Caught the Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha stops in to do one thing, and hangs around for the coming show.

Ch.4

Natasha had walked into Maria's office to show her that she was alive and well after another under cover operation, drop off her report, and head straight for the GYM to work off her excess energy. Instead she had immediately picked up on something being wrong. Having been co-workers, briefly partners, and now friends for the past couple years Natasha closed the office door before asking, “What happened?”

Maria didn't bother to consider the pros or cons of showing the new discovery. When the Black Widow caught the scent of a possible secret she weaved any web necessary to ensnare the knowledge.

In answer she slid over a touch pad with the USB plugged in. As she read Natasha's eyebrow rose to near about hairline level. “What does Fury think of this?”

Maria leaned back in her chair, “After receiving some footage and her file he said, and I quote 'Record that snarky jack ass' reaction for me. That dumbass has something coming to him.'” Natasha's mouth slanted into a smirk, which on a normal person was the equivalent of a full out laugh attack.

Unable to resist Natasha asked, “Permission to observe the debriefing?”

Maria dropped her guard enough to roll her eyes, “Why ask when you'll just hack in later to watch the security feed? Permission granted on observational level only. I don't estimate there to be any threat when I drop the proverbial bomb.”

A notification appeared on the touch pad that the person in question was en route to the New York office. Both women got to their feet, despite a slight height difference they kept even stride to the garage level. As they waited Natasha asked, “Have you ever met her in person?”

“I haven't, you?”

“Nope, only some good stories from Coulson and Thor.”

The black car came to a gentle stop in front of them. In eager anticipation Natasha wondered how much Clint would swear when he found out how much he was missing out on.


	5. Never Leave Home Without Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little shorty chapter. Juicy stuff to come next.

Ch.5

They were taken straight into New York where there was the most human traffic. Jane questioned the location since it would endanger that many more civilians.

Their escorts reminded her that more people meant more cover for their coming and going.

It wasn't until they pulled into an underground garage and stopped right in front of Agent Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff, and another Agent Clone that Darcy muttered, “I shouldn't have left Thorston at home.”


	6. Soul Patch Meet Lips, Smart Mouth Meet Dumb Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sprinkling of snark.  
> The beginning of the shit storm.
> 
> The Darcy Mayhem Tides Begin to Rise!!!!!
> 
> (AKA Introductions with Stark and Capt'n A, and the serious talk starts)

CH. 6

Getting out of the car Darcy glared over at Agent Brick and Stevens, “You totally lied! What the hell did I do that the Black Freaking Widow was needed?! You're my hero and number one choice if I was gay the way.” Having no brain to mouth filter and an abundance of nervous energy Darcy couldn't help going south on the compliment.

Much to her relief Natasha's eyes crinkled in amusement as she said, “I'm flattered.”

Agent Hill advanced, “Ms. Lewis, Dr. Foster its nice to meet you. Your continued research and cooperation with S.H.I.E.L.D have been greatly appreciated. And you're not in any trouble Ms. Lewis. This may even be a situation of … celebration. Depending on your view of things.”

Her guard rose another couple notches rather than lower at this attempt of reassurance. “I'm not in trouble, and I get to meet Black Widow. Good start so far. What else do you have planned? Tea party with Big Green?”

“Darcy play nice. Let's hear them out first. You'll have to excuse her. We got your invitation before we've had any breakfast, or caffeine.” Jane put a firm hand on Darcy's shoulder as a gentle physical reminder. The more nervous Darcy got, the more her words tried to sting with sarcasm. There was just the slightest bit of hysteria underlying them that gave away her real mind set. Over the years, and through far too many scary situations, Jane had learned to listen for it.

Agent Hill gave a small nod, “Of course. Agent Jones could you grab a couple coffees for us and bring them to the board room.” After Agent Jones left the rest of them went into the building. “I apologize for calling on you so early. But its better that you're brought up to speed sooner rather than later. What we've discovered could put you into some difficult situations depending on who else follows the same connections we did.”

“Yea now you're just really freaking me out. Can't you just tell me what's going on before I get comfy? The shorter the distance I have to run for the exit, the happier I'll be.” Darcy wasn't kidding, that last implication of information had made all the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

No one commented on that. Darcy looked to Jane for comfort. Jane took hold of Darcy's hand. From the intensity of the squeeze it was clear that Jane was just as nervous about this new discovery.

When they walked into a small room intended for business meetings with an oval table and seven wheely chairs Darcy audibly sighed, “Oh thank Thor. I thought 'boardroom' was the polite code word for 'interrogation room.'”

“I'm starting to get the sense you've done something illegal. Anything you'd like to share?” Agent Bricks held out a chair for Darcy to sit in. His smile was teasingly innocent. The other members in the room silently thanked him for the humour that seemed to calm down the rattled girl.

Taking the offered seat Darcy mumbled, “Maybe later.” Jane sat as close to Darcy as possible making sure to have visual of everyone else.

Agent Hill made sure to sit right across from Darcy. Reaching into a pouch under the table she pulled out a remote control and switched on the projector. What Darcy and Jane had presumed to be a wall was actually a wall sized screen. It blinked on revealing Tony Stark and Captain Steve Rogers.

Jaw dropping Darcy death gripped Jane's hand under the table.

Tony was playing something on his Starkphone, it became apparent he didn't know they were live until Steve said, “Agent Hill.”

Tony held up a finger, made a couple quick taps on his phone muttering, “Let me just finish this level. You go ahead and get started, I'm totally listening.”

Steve made an effort not to roll his eyes, instead he sighed through his nose and yanked Tony's phone from his hand. Tony blinked at him for a second registering what happened, “Really? What are you, my father? Give it back.”

“After. We have guests.” Steve nodded towards Darcy and Jane.

Finally looking at the screen Tony gave a small smile, “Agents-Not-Important-To-Remember. Agent Hill. Natalie, I'm not surprised. And you are … wait don't tell me … I'm thinking of thunder … Dr. Foster! Thor's main squeeze. Love your astro work, I've read some of it. And you would be... I'm sorry sweet heart, no idea. Love the lips though.”

“Same to you and the soul patch man.”

“Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark, this is Darcy Maria Lewis. Dr. Foster's personal assistant, and S.H.I.E.L.D's accidental best kept secret.” Agent Hill inserted her USB into a port built into the side of the table and an explosion of information appeared on the side of the screen.


	7. Popsicle People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where in Tony wants nothing more to do with his father's popsicle people collection.

Ch.7 

From what Darcy could see it was her entire life history, everything she had ever done since she was old enough to start making things note worthy.

Agent Hill pressed a button and a picture of Darcy moved to the center of the screen, “When Thor touched ground and S.H.I.E.L.D acquired all of Dr. Foster's research -”

“And my still unreturned iPod.” Darcy interrupted.

“We also made sure to do backgrounds checks on Dr. Foster, Dr.Selvig, and Ms. Lewis. Nothing came across our radar then, but we made sure to keep a running search going. It wasn't until after New York that our first discovery was made.”

She pressed a button and a picture of a man with a well groomed mustache came onto the screen above Darcy's picture.

Tony's mouth thinned as he pressed his lips together, “Don't say it. Don't you dare say it.”

“Something you know that we don't Tony?” Captain Rogers' voice was level, his eyes were trying to remain focused on the picture but it seemed to bother him.

“If you tell me she's another revived human popsicle that my old man tampered with I'm going to leave right now. No offense to you lot of tampered/frozen people. I just can't take one more golden oldie reference.” Tony all but glared at the digital image of his father Howard Stark.

Darcy's eyes were just about bursting out of her skull, “Please end my agony of not knowing and tell me?”

No one seemed to notice as Natasha leisurely leaned back in her chair and held her StarkPhone up just high enough for the camera to frame Tony on the screen.

Agent Hill pressed another button and a picture of a woman with Darcy's nose structure came on the screen, “Ms. Lewis isn't another experiment, she is in fact your niece. Congratulations Ms. Lewis, you're part Stark.”


	8. Well Shit...Oh look Mocha!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Howard was a well known Hound, and a second invisible proverbial bomb is about to explode

Ch. 8

There was a flurry of reaction as Tony whipped off his sunglasses and barked a quick, “What?”

At the same moment Darcy jumped to her feet, “Whoa! Whoa! Pause, reverse and start over. Pretty sure I went comatose for part of that. At what part did we see a connection?”

Agent Hill waited for Darcy to sit back down, practically ignoring Tony she explained, “Before Howard Stark settled down with his wife, he was known as a notorious ladies man. Captain Rogers can vouch for this.” When Darcy glanced over at the screen it unnerved her to see Steve watching her intently. It wasn't a 'You-poor-thing' kind of stare, but more of a 'There's-something-I-can-see-but-no-one-else-can.' kind of stare.

“One of his last partners was Mrs.Bartney. She gave birth to a girl named Maria, who was your older half sister Tony, and your mother Darcy.” As she talked Darcy couldn't help but zero in on the picture train. The first woman's picture moved to the right of the screen making room for a picture of another woman that Darcy remembered. Large bambi brown eyes full of warmth, a large smirk and short curly brown hair.

Her memories of her mother were few and fuzzy, but seeing a real picture of her made something in her mind respond. A faint voice whispered in her memory, telling her the story of the three billy goats.

She didn't notice she was crying until Jane pressed a tissue against her cheek. Coming out of her intense memory trance Darcy cleared her throat, “Nothing to see here boys. Keep staring and the Wicked Witch of the Mascara will give you nightmares.”

The slight shifting of bodies told her they had been trying their hardest not to intrude on whatever emotional roller coaster she went on. Taking the issue from Jane she made herself look up at Tony, “Well I'll be damned Mr. Genius. How much you want to bed my natural snark and dazzling good looks came from your gene pool?”

Tony smirked despite the reeling loss of reality in his mind, “I'd take that bet. Tell you what, I give up a drop of blood, you give up a hair. I run some tests. I can easily see some Stark in you now that it's been pointed out. But until I see some DNA confirmation I'm not getting anyone's hopes up.”

“Who's hopes Tony? Yours or hers?” This came from Natasha who'd been silent up until this point.

Steve cleared his throat, it was rare to be forgotten about these days. It made him feel like the sick kid back in Brooklyn before the experiment. Eyes back on him, he smiled apologetically at Darcy, “I hate to be the Negative Nancy -”

Tony and Darcy let out a snort that after the reveal, sounded remarkably similar.

“But if this turns out to be legitimate, Ms. Lewis will certainly become a target to get back at you Stark.”

Darcy immediately raised a hand, “Nope, nuh uh. Legit shit or not, this is not going public record. I love being a lab assistant, hermit under the radar. Back me up here Uncle T. No repeat of the Iron Man reveal with long lost family!”

“I agree with Darcy. Her life only got dangerous recently from being with me in New Mexico. Going public would only be asking for a bucket of trouble to drop on her head.” Jane was as thin as a stick, and rather clueless at common sense for her well being, but she was fiercely protective of what and who was important in her life. Darcy was this magical ray of love, laughter and sunlight that made each day worth pushing through. She'd be damned if a show boat like Tony Stark ruined Darcy's chance at an easy, simple life.

Tony opened his mouth to say his piece only to be cut off by Agent Hill, “Even if you did decide to keep quiet, for once, this is already out in the open. When Agent Romanoff revealed all of S.H.I.E.L.D's files online, this was included as well. However, it was buried rather well. If any of Iron Man's enemies wanted revenge, this wouldn't come across their radar without looking under very specific rocks.”

Darcy slumped down in her seat, “Awesome, it's like playing Russian Roulette with google search terms.”

“Not if I have JARVIS keep an eye out, and of course the full extent of S.H.I.E.L.D's remaining, thin security resources will assist. After all, they owe myself a favor or two after I personally prevented a Nuke from flattening our beloved NYC.”

'If eye rolling could create energy the lights in this room would explode.' Darcy couldn't help but admire a man that could make the historic soldier, the lethal assassin, and the current boss lady of S.H.I.E.L.D struggle to maintain composure.

The moment of silent groaning passed just as quickly as it came when there came a knock at the door. Agent Stevens opened the door letting in Agent Jones who carried two large Starbucks cups and a collection of their chocolate croissants, muffins, and lemon loafs. When Darcy's drink was handed to her she popped the lid to inspect the contents.

Pointing down to the cup she exclaimed, “Not gonna lie. The fact that you knew to order my mocha with extra whip cream, caramel sauce and topped with chocolate sprinkles is a lot more terrifying than the possibility of me being related to Iron Soul Patch. I mean that in a nice way.” She added that last part on the end when Tony suddenly seemed to get bristly.

Darcy looked over at Agent Hill hoping to see if she'd cracked a smile from the woman, only to see something of an unspoken apology instead. Her mocha paused mid-way to her mouth Darcy asked, “Is there something else I should be terrified of?”

In answer Agent Hill pressed a button. The image of Howard Stark and her mother vanished, bringing up a new image in their place, “We can't say for sure yet, but it might be Him you should worry about the most.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya!
> 
> So first and foremost, I love you all for the attention and chance you're giving this story. I'm so out of practice that I can't personally tell if what I'm writing is good or not anymore :/ So its very reassuring to know I haven't completely lost my touch from mis-use.
> 
> Secondly, I am aware of the many grammatical mistakes I'm sure you are all seeing after I post. I however don't have a Beta, and honestly prefer just typing like a mad-woman, posting, and crossing my fingers that I didn't completely butcher a sentence or two with misplaced commas and the like.
> 
> Thirdly! I SUCK at writing group scenes, I'm sure some of you had thought that everyone seems rather quiet for these scenarios given their personalities. (Which is a whole other thing. This is my first time writing for Avengers so I'm literally just poking certain buttons with a stick and hoping the characters are coming out right.) 
> 
> And lastly.....I know I'm a terrible tease, but I'm literally incapable of not writing never ending cliff hangers. So buckle down and keep the groans coming cause I relish in them! HAHAHAHA!.....Love you all :D


	9. Count Down to Melt Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where I leave another short chapter filled with absolute catastrophe in the form of a bomb being dropped

Ch.9

Steve went rigid, Natasha straightened in her seat giving Agent Hill an accusatory stare. This info hadn't been provided to her earlier, had she seen this her attitude about this whole situation would have been much more serious.

Jane, ever the woman behind in what wasn't science based seemed to be the only one confused. Darcy couldn't move, all her her muscles were paralyzed. Concerned Jane gently took the mocha from Darcy's hand and put it back on the table, “You'll have to forgive my ignorance, but who is that and what does he have to do with Darcy?”

Steve didn't take his eyes off the picture of the man with long brown hair, large blue eyes, and a metal left arm with a red star on the shoulder. His hearing was 100 percent on Agent Hill, “This is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. He was HYDRA's assassin up until the recent incident. He's known as the Winter Solider.”

“Now give us the juicy stuff. I've got a meeting with Pepper in 20 minutes and I want all the gossip before I dramatically exit.”

Steve didn't bother to reprimand Tony. Despite his words he could tell Tony was on edge. Finding out he still has remaining family was one thing, and now that newly discovered family was connected to history's most dangerous individual.

Her eyes focused on the still frozen Darcy Maria pressed another button. The image of Sgt. Barnes shrank and moved to the top right of the screen next to a black and white picture of a young woman. Darcy immediately noticed the familiar shape of her lips and wide eyes. Her lungs joined frozen department waiting to hear what she already figured out, “Sgt. Barnes had a younger sister by the name of Rebecca.”

Steve slowly looked from the picture of Rebecca to Darcy, his mind finally pieced together what I had been trying to puzzle out since the beginning of the meeting.

“Rebecca was married to Travis Bartney, but became a widow shortly after the war began. She kept the last name. Ms Bartney was your grandmother Darcy, making Sgt. Barnes your Great Uncle.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not putting this up earlier. Work, social life, procastination. All those lovely things to blame.
> 
> But this super short chapter and it's ending is all on me >:D
> 
> Also let me know if I'm over doing it on the "Agent Hill" -ing.  
> And yes I'm just grabbing things out of thin air, but hey its fanfiction and you know its too fun not to twist little itty bitty theory ideas together XD


	10. Green Light

Ch. 10

Darcy's lungs switched from playing 'Freeze Tag' to 'Red Light Green Light.' The confirmation of what she had guessed told her lungs 'Green Light.' Jane barely managed to move Darcy's mocha out of the way before she slammed her head down on the table top to take deep breathes.

Jane held a hand up to stop Agent Bricks from approaching. Putting her head low Jane listened to the guttural grunting that came from the curtain of Darcy's hair, “She says 'that's just freaking awesome. And not in awesome awesome way.'”

Darcy's head snapped up, her glasses asked she stated, “But wait, just because I'm related doesn't mean he's a danger to me. He doesn't even know who I am, HYDRA wouldn't be interested even if they did know. So we're all good right?...Right?” Her large blue eyes were pleading for reassurance.

It was Steve who put her out of her hopeful misery, “During the incident that lead to the reveal of S.H.I.E.L.D Bucky managed to break out of HYDRA's control. He's currently M.I.A.”

“He'll be picking up the pieces while he's running.” Natasha's words were vague but the meaning was clear.

“The pieces might lead him to Darcy, and if HYDRA is still functioning under ground they'd want to get their assassin back. Using Darcy would make him go right back to them.” Jane voiced the connection as her brain put it together. Her mouth going dry from fear for her friend she had to ask the blank faced woman, “Does HYDRA know about Darcy's connection to Sgt. Barnes?”

“At this time we don't know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't enjoy posting such short chapters. As mentioned previously it's been a while since I wrote fanfiction so I think this is just my brain turning the gears to get the rust off. I'm trying to keep the story progressing without pushing too much and ruining the content.
> 
> Sorry!


	11. Girl Talk Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria faces a room of unhappy people.

CH.11

“Well that's just splendid. I love not knowing if my life is in certain danger or not. Tell you what, I'm going to take my Jane and my mocha back to my place. I'm going to tweak my tazer Thorston into a weapon capable of bringing down an army of HYDRA agents, and that way I'll at least a couple minutes to try and call to tell you 'Yes, they did know about my feeble existence.'” Darcy was on her feet with one hand pulling Jane along to the door, after her speel she took a dramatic chug of her mocha and stormed out of the board room.

Silence fell right up until Tony pouted, “She took my dramatic exit bit.”

Ignoring Tony Maria addressed Steve, who was currently having a hard time keeping his composure. His distress was at war with his mind as it tried to put together the best plan to handle this new situation, “We're setting up a safe house as we speak, until its ready Ms. Lewis will be under 24 hours surveillance.”

Steve gave a small nod, “Thank you. If you'll excuse me?” Needing to wrap his mind around things he left the room he and Tony were having their video conference.

Tony was giving Maria a squinchy eyed look, “Do you think you maybe should have told Ms. Lips that she's under watch and will soon be uprooted from her life? It's stuff like that that let HYDRA sneak in and take control.”

Having had enough for one day Maria asked with a bit of sting, “Didn't you have a meeting with Ms. Potts to get to?” She hit the 'End' button on the remote before Tony could reply anything snippier.

“Agent Johnson, Bricks. Would you please escort Ms. Lewis and Dr. Foster home. You're dismissed Agent Jones.” The men left the room without saying a word.

Only after the door clicked shut behind them did Maria turn to face Natasha. The red headed woman's expression was blank, the blue eyes that were focused on her were frozen over. A sign that Maria knew meant trouble. The question didn't need to be asked, “I didn't tell you about the Winter Soldier because I didn't want you running off to stake out Lewis' home.”

“Why do you believe I would do that?” Natasha's voice was flat.

“Couple different reasons. First is the slight grudge you might have with him for the bullet through your body. Second being that you're good friends and loyal to Captain Rogers. It would mean a lot for him to get Sgt. Barnes back.”

Natasha leaned back in the chair crossing her legs, “ You make it sound like that would be a bad thing.”

“Until HYDRA is less of a threat I'm going to consider it to be a bad thing. If HYDRA doesn't know about Ms. Lewis I would really like to keep it that way. If Sgt. Barnes doesn't know about her, that's even better.” Maria's hand reached over and grabbed a Starbucks pastry, not even checking to see which one it was she took a bite.

Natasha didn't say anything, only watched as Maria scarfed down a lemon loaf in record time. A small part of her was still bothered by the lack of sharing that should have happened earlier. The part of her mind that was trained to assess, break down and view things entirely from a logical standing point accepted Maria's reasons.

Getting up she quickly snatched the chocolate croissant, “Do you want any help with intel gathering? I don't have anything for the week unless something special comes up.”

Taking that as an extended olive branch Maria asked, “If you or Barton hear any whispers I'd appreciate the assist.”

Natasha gave a slight head tilt as she took a bite of croissant, “Don't tell Stark, but he had a point. You should have told Lewis about the surveillance and safe house before she left. I don't envy the messenger you do send to tell her. I hear she has a good streak with her tazer.” Humming a bit at the nice taste of her treat Natasha left Maria to ponder who to sacrifice to Thorston.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Came very close to falling into an icky writing down swing already. The big up-swing it took in reverse lead to this lovely chapter length :)


	12. Not Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane makes it clear, she will not be the bearer of bad news.

CH.12 

The ride from the New York S.H.I.E.L.D office back to Darcy and Jane's small rental house was tense. Other than intentionally slurping her mocha loudly; Darcy stayed slumped down I her seat with her arms crossed looking like a pouting 4 year old.

Jane wanted to ask their escorts questions such as, “Are we under house arrest?” , “Are any of my things going to be tampered with again?” The only reason she didn't ask the questions was due to Darcy's state. The pouting 4 year old look was just that, a means of saying 'Don't talk to me or else.' In reality Darcy was doing her best not to have an explosion of panic. Last time this had happened was when Thor first came into their lives. After they had dropped him off at the hospital Darcy had called dibs on the back seat for the drive to their lab. During the ride Jane couldn't help but go into Science! Mode about the lights and scorch marks. Just as they pulled up to the lab Darcy couldn't take it anymore and exploded. They'd had to force her to lie down and take deep breathes, if they hadn't Darcy likely would have fallen to the ground on her own in a feint. 

As soon as they got within the safety of their home she'd let Darcy explode all she wanted. It was how she processed everything and let herself move on. It was something Jane admired about Darcy. The woman just needed to emotionally vomit once and then she could start back on being the independent smart mouth that she always was.

The second the car stopped Darcy took off for the house making sure to slam the door behind her. Jane stayed back, “Is there anything else we should know? Tell me and I'll let Darcy know. She'll take it better from me.”

“You mean she won't taze you when you tell her the bad news.” Agent Bricks turned off the car and turned in his seat. “Starting today we'll be surveying your residence until a more secure location has been set up. We'll be in a different car and dressed civil. If you or Ms. Lewis leaves the house one or both of us will follow.”

Jane's mouth opened and a strangled squeak of indignation came out, “I-I...That's...No.”

Agent Johnson furrowed his brow, “No?”

“No. I'm not telling Darcy this. You get to tell her.” Jane undid her seat belt and stormed to the house with the Agent scrambling to catch up.

“Dr. Foster you just said you'd tell her.” Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D weren't supposed to whine. Even when faced with the threat of a tazer.

Stopping just at the door Jane pulled off a perfect spin and hand on hip motion, “I was ready to tell her she would have Agents shadowing her for an unforeseeable amount of time. But telling her that she has to repack everything she just finished unpacking will not be my responsibility. This little home you see as a piece of crap with too many vulnerabilities is our home. Neither myself or Darcy has had one of these in a long time. So no, I will not be the one to tell her.”

Agent Johnson didn't have a response to that, there was no response. Jane went inside and closed the door. If they knocked Darcy would answer it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in such an awesome writing groove these days. I recently posted a new one shot that's for Loki/Darcy fans, and plan on a whole list of additional one shots to join it.
> 
> This story has been gaining a bit more momentum too. I'm really feeling like my old self :)


	13. What Do You Do With A Niece You Never Knew Existed Before?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony lets himself have a bit of tenderness with Pepper to figure out what to do next.

CH.13

When Tony had said he had a meeting with Pepper he wasn't entirely telling the truth. He did need to find Pepper, it was just for personal matters instead of business. The moment the family skeleton fell out of the closet he'd felt his anxiety rattle his system. His mind needed something to build, something to focus on. Anything to keep him from thinking about all the things that might have been different in his life.

The walk from the Stark Tower Board Room (it needed a name to keep it separate from the other three million board rooms) to the elevator and then to his personal floor turned into a blur. If Pepper didn't gently grab his arm and pull his gaze to her face he would have trance walked all the way to his lab.

He zeroed in on her sky blue eyes, the ones he knew could harden into blue steel when facing down dumb-dumb board members and business men. Reaching over he took hold of her hand and intertwined their fingers, “Hey Pepp.”

“Hey Tony. JARVIS said I should come find you. You okay?” Her voice was soft, Pepper knew that look on Tony's face. Over the years she'd learned to see each jay flex, eyebrow twitch, brow wrinkle, and mouth tick for the indicators to Tony's mind. Whatever had happened in his meeting had brought out his 'Family-Based-Regret' face.

On his own private floor Tony dropped his cocky shoulder stance and sagged into Pepper's tender hands, “Just found out my old man did more than just make Cappy.”

Her free hand went to Tony's cheek, her thumb brushing along the small amount of stubble already there she asked, “What else did he do Tony?”

He leaned his head into her hand. That soothing gesture was ridiculously effective. “I have a 20 something year old niece.”

Pepper's eyebrow jumped up an inch, “If you have a niece, then you also have -”

“Had. I had a half sister. Died a couple years ago. But I never knew Pepp. I don't know if my old man even knew...I need a drink. Can I have a drink?” Drinking was his second choice of controlling his mind set. It wasn't as bad as his little 'Good Bye to life' period, but it was still a nice way to soothe his frazzled internal wires. It made both of them feel better when Tony kind of asked for permission first though.

Tugging Tony over to their mini bar she went to the cupboards and got him a shot of scotch. Not their super good quality stuff, just the quick fix kind. Smiling gratefully he drank it straight and sighed, “What should I do?”

Leaning her elbows on the island counter Pepper asked, “About your niece?” He gave a nod, “What do you want to do Tony?”

“Google 'What do you do with a niece you never knew existed before?'” That got him a small eye roll and an amused smile from Pepper.

Reaching over she took Tony's hands, “How about you get to know her first? Spend some time with her and see if she wants to get to know you too.”

Tony's mouth went sideways as his eyebrow went up, “Sounds a bit too Hallmark for me. How about I just get J to dig out all her info from S.H.I.E.L.D and I go from there? That sounds good, let's do that. Thanks Pepp, love ya.” Before Pepper could stop him physically and prevent the crazy idea from starting he was up and running for his labs.

Groaning a bit to herself Pepper tentatively asked, “JARVIS can you please make sure Tony doesn't go overboard with this. Just give him the basic info please?”

“Of course Ms. Potts.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp I'm officially caught up to what I have written on paper. The next update likely won't be a for a little bit since I'm getting ready to move in the next couple weeks, and I've also started a new job that doesn't give me too much opportunity to slip in writing time. Hopefully this will tide you guys over until then :)


	14. Scream And Shout Those Fears Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Darcy Method of Coping With Bad Emotions: Screaming and Pacing.

Ch.14

Emotional vomiting for Darcy was either one of two things. She would find a pillow or something else soft and squishy and then scream into it. Or she would pace around a room saying every little thing that popped into her head.

When the shit had hit the fan in New Mexico she had dealt with it by doing just one of those things.

This whole situation actually revolved around her, and being the center of this brewing shit storm had amped up Darcy's emotions to need much more than just one of the two things. So she started with the screaming.

That was how Jane found her when she walked into the living room. One of the couch cushions was held up to her face and she was screaming as loud as she possibly could on a single breath of air.

Knowing the routine Jane left Darcy to it and went to make sure the kitchen hadn't burned down in their absence (then she was going to dig out her self made bug detector and go over every single inch of the house.)

When air became necessary Darcy let the cushion fall to the couch. She took in a couple deep lung fulls, waited for her head to stop spinning then proceeded to pace.

Jane came back into the living room just as Darcy as saying, “It's not so bad having Tony for an Uncle right? He can totally bail me out of jail next time....But wait I need his phone number first....Mental note, call S.H.I.E.L.D for Uncle T's number. And he's Iron Man, Iron is cool. He'll help me with security and what not when HYDRA comes knocking right? He'll scare away the crazy people won't he Jane? Right he will.”

Jane sat down on their second hand recliner to wait for Darcy's next spew of questions and self answers. After New Mexico Darcy had done the screaming thing. After the London incident Darcy had done the ramble pacing thing. It made Jane worry that Darcy felt the need to do both.

“I also have Winter Solider Uncle. Great Uncle Buck. Big scary assassin with a freaking metal arm. Sure he's the one bringing all the real scary down on me, but it's not his fault! HYDRA is the big baddie in all this. They're the crazy, stupid, dangerous, super secret, ruthless, highly trained, and armed to the teeth army that are trying to find Mr. Barnes. Mr. Barnes?! What the hell is that? Nope, never saying that again. He's the Winter Fucking Soldier, he's Sergeant James Barnes. WHY THE FUCKING HELL DID'T MY FAMILY EVER MENTION OUR CONNECTION TO SERGEANT BARNES?! HE WAS A DECORATED WAR HERO FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!”

Cringing at the sharp shrill in Darcy's voice Jane sincerely wished that there was at least one bug in their house. That pitch of voice would definitely shatter one person's ear drums.

That last screech seemed to end Darcy's vomiting, panting she sat down on the couch, “I feel better now.”

“Good. Now we can talk about what you want to do.” Jane moved from the recliner to Darcy's side.

“What do you mean what I do I want to do?”

“You just found out you're related to Tony Stark and Sergeant Barnes. Do you want to make some calls to your family, give them a heads up?”

An emotion of some kind flew on and off Darcy's face before she answered, “Don't really have any family to warn. My mom passed away, fucking cancer. Never found out who my dad is. My grandparents all passed away before I was 5.” As she spoke her voice seemed to hover over the line of ' I don't mind talking about it' and 'I'm trying not to burst into tears.'

Feeling like a piece of space trash Jane kicked herself a million times over for not learning more about Darcy's situation. Taking a page from Darcy's book Jane forced away the settling awkward, “Right, next step then. Do you want to stay here or do you want to go underground? And before you ask, yes I'll be sticking with you.”

“Awww you're giving me the warm and fuzzies Jane. But like hell I'm moving. I literally just unpacked the last box two days ago. Besides, there's no actual confirmed threat, and by default that means there's no good solid reason to yank the freshly planted roots out of this planter....Ewww, that plant comparison sounded stupid.”

Jane still giggled and grabbed Darcy in a hug, “You're right.”

“I usually am.” Was her instinctive smart ass remark.

“Until there's a real threat we'll sit tight. Act like nothing has changed until it actually does. You're still Darcy Lewis, I'm still your boss, and we both need something to eat.”

Making an over exaggerated sigh Darcy gave Jane a tight squeeze then playfully pushed her away, “I was wondering when you'd say something. Alright, you keep checking for microscopic eyes and ears and I'll go make that overdue french toast.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look see! I didn't abandon this story in my endless collection of Darcy/Loki one shots!
> 
> Speaking of, if you're a fan you might enjoy my ridiculous and highly entertaining series 'Songs Stuck In Her Head.'
> 
> I'm trying to build up the amount I have written with this story before posting chapters since I can spread the updates out between my dry spells.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)


	15. Its A Small World Full of Starks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Done with his Darcy binging (cause JARVIS cut him off) Tony starts making rounds to share the news. Starting with Bruce.

Ch.15

After scanning through Facebook, a couple arrest records of misdemeanor, and her entire educational history JARVIS shut Tony out of anything else too personal about Darcy. (Although it could be strongly argued that Facebook was the personal info jackpot.)

Content with the cram session Tony strolled into the Stark R&D lab to announce, “I have a niece and I proclaim her a true Stark.”

Bruce stared back at him, both eyebrows raised he asked, “How much have you had to drink Tony?” He nodded to the empty glass Tony had brought in with him.

Rolling his eyes Tony walked over and made himself comfy on a stool, “Not important, and not as much as I will be tonight. Here look.”

Tony tapped a button on his wrist band and a holograph screen popped up. A picture of a blue eyed woman with an abundance of curly long brown hair filled the holo-screen. Bruce gave the picture a whole ten second of focus before looking at Tony to silently say, 'I don't see it' with a shrug.

Giving Bruce a sad little head shake Tony touched another button and the picture scrolled up to give a summary of what Tony had just dug up, “Aced all her mathematics and science classes. Took autoshop and wood working. Two arrests for public intoxication and misdemeanors, and that gorgeous Italian hair. You can't tell me you don't see the resemblance.”

His lips pressed together in thought Bruce reached over to his cellphone and tapped a single button. It rang once before Natasha's voice answered, “Banner.”

“Is it true?”

“Yes. There is another spawn of Stark. Thankfully she's a diluted version.” Nothing else to offer Natasha cut the call.

Shifting a bit on his feet Bruce mumbled, “Okay you have a niece. Congrats?”

“Damn right! I'm throwing a party and the whole team is invited sans Thor...Unless Dr. Foster is able to get him down here. Which reminds me. Ms. Darcy Lewis, AKA my newly discovered blood relative, is the personal assistant to Dr. Jane Foster. Such a small world we will live in.”

This gave Bruce a small jolt, “Your niece is the personal lab assistant to Doctor Jane Foster? The woman currently working on building a bridge to Asgard, and love interest of Thor?”

“I repeat. Small, small world we live in Brucy.” That said Tony strolled back out of the lab whistling the 'Small World' song from Disney Land.

Taking off his glasses to rub his hands over his face Bruce muttered, “It's starting to feel too small.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small one I know, but it felt needed all the same. And who doesn't love watching Tony drop family bombs on poor Bruce?
> 
> I'm currently fiddling with the next chapter so it might be a little bit for the next update. Sorry!
> 
> (And no its not because of my current never-ending one shot spree of TaserTrick........*says while kicking notebooks full of TaserTrick ideas under the rug*)


	16. Coffee, Calls, and Whatnot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane and Darcy have a normal day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STILL ALIVE!
> 
> *Buried under mountains of work* Just slipped and fell back into my reading only funk. I'm clawing my way out by my finger tips!

By that afternoon Jane and Darcy had managed to go back to their daily routine. Which was to say Jane did Science! And Darcy helped her the best she could. They were stuck working out of their garage due to S.H.I.E.L.D shutting down all the labs during the HYDRA reveal. They’d both been surprised when a cluster of the nut bars didn’t come storming to their place to take Jane and all her research. 

During the afternoon Darcy caught Jane trying to discreetly check on her. The first two times Darcy snickered to herself while enjoying the warm fuzzies. After that her irritation spiked half an inch.

When 5pm rolled around Darcy decided she needed a time-out or she’d likely bite Jane’s head off. “I’m going to Mojo’s for some special coffee. You want anything?”

Jane’s eyes were on the white board when she shook her head. When Darcy had just reached the door Jane suddenly remembered, “Oh wait! Darcy!”

“Uh yea? I’m still right here.”

“I almost forgot to tell you. Just...Don’t be surprised if you see a car following after you.” There was an unspoken tone of apology to Jane’s voice.

Rolling her eyes Darcy whined, “You ruined the No-Danger-Vibe Jane. And I should have known they’d have little strings attached. Is it our two friends from this morning?”

“Probably. Don’t give them too hard a time Darcy, they’re just here to help.” Jane’s voice got quiet as her attention refocused on Science!

Stepping out of the garage Darcy did a quick sweep of the street. The house they’d chosen had a decent amount of space to itself at the end of a cul-de-sac (last thing they needed was some dumb shit breaking in looking for an easy score and getting their hands on Jane’s toys.) It didn’t take much to spot the black car one house down, “Must be a pretty light security detail if they’re willing to stick out like a sore thumb.”

Deciding to just ignore them Darcy circled around to the backyard and grabbed her bike. Neither herself or Jane were driving much these days. They mostly used the car if they were going out of town or to get groceries. Darcy was by no means a gung-ho physical person. There was just something rather peaceful about riding a bike down a flat road that let Darcy float away.

It was also totally worth the small amount of sweat to see the incognito agents snap to attention as she rode by and rang her little bike bell.

About three blocks later the black car rolled up alongside her, “Would you like a ride Ms. Lewis?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be ‘discreetly’ tailing me? If anything you’re just making me stand out more.” Darcy Lewis:Champion of Snarky Conversation and bike riding at the same time. She deserved a gold medal.

Agent Brick was sitting shot gun as Agent Johnson painstakingly inched the car along at Darcy’s pedal powered pace, “Ms. Lewis-”

“Darcy! I feel like I’m in trouble every time you call me Ms. Lewis. Seriously, you’re giving me high school and college flashbacks.”

“Are you turning down a free ride just to be contrary or because you really like riding a bike in growing darkness?” Agent Brick dropped some of his S.H.I.E.L.D persona and smiled at her knowingly.

Rolling to a stop at the next corner Darcy gave her road companion her full attention. Agent Brick was in his late 20’s, was skinny in a lean muscular way, blonde hair styled to give him a sweep of bangs over his forehead, a rather narrow face and soft brown eyes. Darcy put him under her mental list of ‘Good Peoples.’ Smiling with all her teeth she answered. “Neither. I just wanted to see what you two would do. We’re almost at Mojo’s. I was planning on mooching a ride back since its a bitch to ride with coffee.”

This must have sounded like a decent compromise since Agent Brick gave a nod and motioned for her to go on ahead.

~~ ~~~

“Jane I’m back! Jane? Jaaaane?” Darcy juggled the tray with two large coffees and small bag of mini croissants.

When she’d left Jane had been at her white board. Seeing no sign of her Darcy put the coffee tray on her work table and went to investigate.

Going into the living room she found Jane’s sweater thrown onto the recliner. Listening she heard water running from their bathroom. Both eyebrows raised Darcy marvelled, “She took a shower all on her own? Geez, I was smart to buy her those treats.”

Pleased that her normally spacy friend/boss was being human Darcy went about cleaning. With it just being the two women they tended to let the place go into chaos while in work mode. There were dirty dishes sprinkled around, more than one pair of pants crumpled into a ball in different corners. (Jane was basically Darcy’s sister, no need for modesty. Plus they were both pretty immune to pantless displays after too much time spent with Erik.)

When she picked up a random sock off the small table next to the couch Darcy found their answering machine was blinking, “Oh right, I forgot we had that...Why do we have an answering machine?” Hearing the shower switch off Darcy yelled, “JANE! WHY DO WE STILL HAVE AN ANSWERING MACHINE?!”

“FOR THE BILL COLLECTORS!”

“Ha! Right I forgot. Stupid collectors. Let’s see who we got.”

Darcy cranked up the volume on the machine and hit play. She listened with half her attention while continuing to clean up.

“You’ve won a free trip to the Bahamas, just answer this survey!”

“Seriously? These stupid things still exist?”

“You have an outstanding balance of-”

“Tell Stark Industries.”

“You currently owe a balance of-”

“Stark.”

“Hey Ms. Lips, it’s your newly discovered Best Uncle Ever.”

Darcy stopped and stared over at the machine.

“JARVIS put me through to your machine for shits and giggles, who says AI can’t have a sense of humour? Anyhoodles you and Dr. Foster are coming to my little party tomorrow night. Notice it’s not a question. You show up or I bring the party to you...I’m having some deja vu….So yea, Pepper will email you both the details. See you tomorrow. Or else!”

Darcy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Thankfully Jane had come out of the bathroom towards the end, “Have I mentioned how annoying I think he is?”

“No but I agree….Is it weird that I was waiting for a diabolical laugh at the end there?” Darcy shoved a pile of Jane’s clothes into her arms and carried the dishes to the kitchen.

“Yea I had the same feeling.”

Leaning against the sink Darcy asked, “You want to go? Stark’s parties are kind of legendary.”

Jane’s mouth scrunched up in thought, “You should definitely go Darce. I don’t know if I should. I still need to finish adjusting my new machine for Thor’s next visit, and with you out I’ll need to enter in tonight’s data.”

“All I’m hearing are excuses. I know you don’t like big parties but think for a second. Bruce will be there, and you’ve been dying to talk to him again. Tony might even have some science talk time with you.” Darcy cleaned the dishes as she talked. She could hear Jane shuffling on her feet, considering all the points.

Tilting her head back Darcy asked in a threatening tone, “Besides all that, do you really want to leave me unsupervised with Tony Stark? Slightly reformed playboy? All that alcohol Jane, think about it. Not to mention all the toys he’ll have for me to mess with.”

Jane put a hand on Darcy’s shoulder, her brown eyes intense she growled, “Stop. Stop right now. I’m going if only to prevent you from turning Tony into a super villain. Pepper would never forgive me.”

Giggling in victory Darcy bounced on her heels, “All right Boss Lady. You want to pick out dresses tonight or tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow.”


End file.
